


Skinny Love

by ipona



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, Kissing, M/M, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21864058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ipona/pseuds/ipona
Summary: Soft. Gentle. The kiss is a question, just as much as it is an answer. A confession. A shot in the dark. And just as soon as Poe’s brain decides to start working again, he presses back, pouring every feeling, every fear, every hope, into it.Post-TROS. Finn and Poe find each other. Short and sweet, with a little bit of angst.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 9
Kudos: 421





	Skinny Love

**Author's Note:**

> So I saw The Rise of Skywalker. And then this happened.
> 
> No major spoilers, but this does takes place after the events of The Rise of Skywalker so proceed with caution if you haven’t seen the movie yet.
> 
> This is just something short and sweet (and a little bit angsty because that’s apparently what I felt like today) that I needed to get out of my system because FinnPoe is my one true love and I’m appalled by the fact that I’ve never written them before.

When it’s all over, there’s an emptiness that sets in.

Poe holds onto Finn and Rey, as tightly as he possibly can. He buries his face in Finn’s neck and inhales sweat and metal and gunfire, and for just a second the world around them goes quiet. The cheers, the loud engines, it all fades away, and the world boils down to his own frantically beating heart, Rey’s fingers, entwined with his own, and Finn’s arm around his waist. For a moment, he hangs on by a thread, and the realization washes over him.

It’s really all over.

Afterwards, it’s a long way back. Poe doesn’t sleep. His arm refuses to heal properly. He’s still a general, but what’s a general after the war is over? There’s always work to do, and he keeps up with the motions, does his duty, but nothing more. Rey goes away for a while, and Finn stays behind at the base, though there’s always something unspoken between them, something that refuses to surface, a shadow over every interaction.

Instead, everything is just glances across the room, polite greetings, where before there were fleeting touches and playful banter. Just on the edge of flirting, always balancing, never quite crossing the invisible line in the sand.

More than once, Poe thinks that this is over too, this thing between them, the intimacy, the nameless feelings. Maybe they were just symptoms of their situation, the stress and pressure, the raging engine of war making them desperately find solace in each other. And now, when peace settles in, they wake to a cold and harsh reality where there was never really anything there at all.

Poe’s chest aches when he thinks of it, and he forces the thoughts away, focusing instead on what’s in front of him.

Finn is going to be a Jedi. Rey is set on teaching everyone who wants to learn, and Finn is an avid pupil. Poe only watches them train occasionally, and though he won’t admit it, his stomach turns inside out every time Finn smiles at her the way he used to smile at Poe.

Poe is used to screwing things up. He’s done it on more than one occasion. A lifetime of almosts and maybes, of broken hearts and tearless grief over something that was not really anything at all in the end. So he rushed past it, hurried on by, shielding his heart from the impact. There’s always something more, something grander, that needs him more than the ache inside does. And so he has found excuses for how it was never really meant to be after all.

He doesn’t know why Finn is so different. Maybe it’s because the dust has settled around them, with nothing else to run to, nothing new to take refuge in, to bury his heart in.

Or maybe it’s just because Finn is different in every way from those who made their way into Poe’s heart before him. His smile is brighter than the sun, his laughter sweeter than any song Poe has ever heard. Maybe it’s because Finn is radiant and brilliant, kind to the core, and he makes Poe want to be a better person. When he’s with Finn, his past doesn’t matter. Neither of their pasts matters, because what they’ve built here and now makes up for everything that’s happened.

It’s Rey that pushes them together again in the end. She always seems to know something that no one else knows, always looks at them with a glint in her eyes, of something that Poe couldn’t possibly decipher. And at this point, he doesn’t even try. She asks Poe to help her with Finn’s Jedi training, and it takes all of Poe’s willpower to not laugh out loud. He’s probably the furthest away from the Force that one possibly gets, and honestly, ever since he was interrogated aboard that ship over Jakku, he’s been scared of it.

Of course, he doesn’t tell Rey that. He hasn’t told anyone of how the First Order got any information out of him. Instead, he just tell her: ”I don’t think I’m the right person for that.”

”I think you’re the only person for it,” Rey presses on. ”There’s no one here Finn trusts more than you.”

”What can I help with?” he sighs at last, because somehow Rey knows all the right words to use to get him to do exactly what she wants. Thankfully, the only thing she wants him to do is spar with Finn. Rey’s reasoning is that if Finn is going into battle as a Jedi, odds are that his opponents aren’t going to be using the Force, and Finn needs to train in using his powers against someone who isn’t Rey or a training dummy. Or something like that. Poe doesn’t pretend to understand any of it.

Poe thinks he keeps up okay, only occasionally getting slammed into the floor by an unexpected Force push. He’s distracted though, and hand-to-hand combat has never been his strongest suit. Finn looks different dressed in the traditional Jedi garb. The light colors complement dark skin, the flowing sleeves whip around his arms as he moves, and the belt at his waist accentuates a trim midsection. Combine it all with the warmth radiating from Finn’s skin, the scent of him, the feel of him in fleeting moments of closeness, and Poe feels his face turn pink, not only from the work-out.

Just as Poe manages to get Finn to the floor, a knee to his chest, his hands pinned to his sides, blood triumphantly pumping in Poe’s veins, Rey interrupts.

”I think that’s enough for today,” she says, her voice carrying the barest hint of a smile. Poe grins down at Finn, who just stares back, a dazed look on his face. Poe gets off him, and offers him a hand, which Finn takes with no hesitation. For just a moment, as Finn gets to his feet, the look on his face changed to a smile, everything feels familiar again. Finn clasps a hand over Poe’s shoulder.

”Thank you,” he says, voice low and calm. Poe considers shooting back with something cocky, but decides against it as he reaches up and squeezes Finn’s hand where it lies on his shoulder.

”No problem, buddy,” he says instead. ”It’s nice to see you as a Jedi master.”

”Hardly a master,” Finn retorts, before Rey butts in.

”But he’s steadily improving.” She smiles at him and then turn to Poe. ”Thanks for the help.”

Poe just waves his hand at her. ”Don’t mention it, I needed a good workout anyway. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to hit the shower.”

He gives Finn one last smile before he goes, and the expression on Finn’s face changes to something Poe can’t put his finger on. And so the shadow is there again, the one that had briefly dissipated while the two of them were close enough to breathe the same air. Poe doesn’t dwell on it, forces himself to think of something else, anything else.

That’s until he hears footsteps behind him, and just outside the doors to his living quarters, Finn catches up to him, hand on his shoulder once more, and Poe stops in his tracks.

”Finn?” he bursts out without really meaning to.

”Hey,” Finn says, and for just a moment, they just look into each other’s eyes, neither of them knowing what to say.

”Hey,” Poe echoes, as the moment drags on, until all that is real is Finn’s face in front of him.

”I miss you.” It’s Finn that breaks the silence, and Poe’s heart is beating hard in his chest.

”Me too,” he manages. Then, he takes Finn’s hand to drag him along. ”Let’s talk inside.”

The whirlwind inside his head doesn’t slow down once they’re inside. On the contrary, Finn’s presence next to him as he closes the door behind them, makes his head spin even faster.

”So what happens now?” Once again, Finn is the one who breaks the silence. His tone is hushed, as though he’s scared to be heard, despite no one being around to hear them. Poe doesn’t know the answer to that. Instead, he just turns his head towards Finn, scanning every feature of his face. Dark eyes that never betray what goes on behind them. High, proud cheekbones, less pronounced now that the war is over and they don’t have to ration food anymore. Full lips that Poe so desperately wants to press his own against.

He doesn’t know how long he stares at Finn’s mouth. What he does know is that Finn’s hand comes up to run fleeting touches over the back of his neck, fingers entangling in the locks that curl at his nape. Strong fingers. Kind fingers. And then Finn is there, right in from of him, closer than he ever was before. Dark eyes fall shut and Poe mind short circuits as he finally gets to find out what those lips feel like against his own.

Soft. Gentle. The kiss is a question, just as much as it is an answer. A confession. A shot in the dark. And just as soon as Poe’s brain decides to start working again, he presses back, pouring every feeling, every fear, every hope, into it. Finally everything that has been broken feels whole again, and Poe’s hands come up to rest on Finn’s shoulders. Finn’s lips curl into a smile against Poe’s mouth before they break apart.

Poe sighs happily, almost wistfully, and it’s a reaction that’s out of his control, one he curses himself for when Finn’s smile stretches wider across his face, showing a row of perfect teeth.

”You should have done that months ago,” Poe tells him before Finn can say anything.

”Oh, it’s all my fault, is it?” Finn shoots back, voice mocking offense, but the shit-eating grin on his face betrays him. ”You could have told me you wanted me to kiss you. Or better yet, done it yourself.”

”I though you could read my thoughts, Mr. Big Deal Jedi Master.”

Finn rolls his eyes as he leans in again, close enough that Poe feels Finn’s voice on his lips before he hears it. ”Not how the Force works. And I have never had any clue of what goes on in your head.”

The kiss is firmer this time, more insistent, more urgent, like they’re making up for lost time. And maybe they are. Poe remembers all of the times he’s looked into Finn’s eyes, in the safe comfort of the Falcon, in dark alleys on distant planets, in the pristine corridors of Star Destroyers. And now here, in the quiet safety of his own quarters. His hands flit from Finn’s shoulders to the sides of his face, thumbs caressing his jaw as Finn opens his mouth to deepen the kiss.

Poe doesn’t know for how long they’ve been there, or for how long he’s been kissing Finn, but as they pull apart, Poe is light-headed and out of breath. Still, he grins, letting his hands run carefully from Finn’s shoulders to his waist.

”Right now, what’s going on in my head is who taught you to kiss like that, and if I want to punch them or thank them.”

Finn snorts and presses another lingering kiss to Poe’s lips. As the break apart, Finn keeps their foreheads pressed together.

”It doesn’t matter, I only want to kiss you from now on.”

”Mm,” Poe hums in agreement as he closes his eyes, just enjoying the closeness and how everything is falling back into place. Now that his forehead is pressed against Finn’s, his hands on Finn’s waist, Finn’s fingers in his hair, he wonders how he ever felt whole without it.

”So,” he begins, smiling sheepishly as he takes a step back from Finn, his hand running down Finn’s arms, until their fingers interlock. ”I was going to take that shower now.”

He takes another step back, pulling Finn with him. ”Care to join me?”

”What, you think I smell?” Finn follows his lead though.

”Absolutely, you sti-” He doesn’t get to finish the sentence, because Finn’s mouth is on his once more, and his hands are in Poe’s hair, and everything is finally at peace again.


End file.
